Young Adam Movie Review

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Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton star in the slightly racy Young Adam, the movie that is probably most known for its NC-17 rating. The movie is no more explicit than some R-rated movies, but since McGregor shows his wee-wee, things are just SO much more inappropriate! [Please note sarcasm]

Unfortunately, as bad as it is to see McGregor's "parts we don't talk about," it is even worse to sit through this boring film, which turns into an uninteresting story of morals. McGregor stars as Joe Taylor, a young drifter who has found work on a barge. He begins an affair with the barge captain's wife (Swinton), but at the same time thinks back to a relationship he had with another woman (Emily Mortimer). Oh, and he also finds a dead woman in the water.

The movie has slight potential, but even from the first minute it never gets off the ground. The chemistry between Swinton and McGregor is not apparent, and frankly, they are not fun to watch in the sack. McGregor is the wrong gender and Swinton is a little too old to really want to watch having passionate sex with anyone. Mortimer is better, but we still have to see Swinton's breasts. Why am I bringing this up? Well, Young Adam is supposed to be steamy and, with its NC-17 rating, the majority of people who rent this movie are going to be 20-something males just like myself. It isn't worth it, guys!

Even without the sex, the movie is still not stimulating. The movie drags on and on (even though it is only 93 minutes long) and huge chunks can be fast-forwarded through without missing a single beat. Director David Mackenzie's work is nothing to applaud, either, as he reveals certain things too early and never really makes us care about anyone in his movie.

Young Adam is a very disappointing film with little going for. If an NC-17 movie doesn't even have good sex going for it, there's definitely a problem. As a drama, it is equally unsatisfying.